Hot Tip for Yarmouth Berthing

[Dockhead]

Don't pick up a mooring! It costs 35 pounds a night (!!). You can anchor just outside the mooring field for 5 pounds, and the water taxi, should you need it, serves the anchorage, too.

I am a regular in Yarmouth, and they nearly always find a spot for me in the harbour. But today the harbour was a madhouse, and I got turned away. I did not have my tender with me and was afraid that the water taxi doesn't go out to the anhorage, so for the first time ever, I picked up one of their moorings. Last time, too.

 

[LadyInBed]

Been doing that for donkeys years!

You must be excited, posting it twice

 

[Giblets]

You can anchor just outside the mooring field for 5 pounds, and the water taxi, should you need it, serves the anchorage, too.

Don't suppose you happen to have a rough lat/long for the anchoring area do you? :encouragement:

 

[onesea]

I am sure that anchoring used to be free... Then I sneaked in to the harbour many a time and got free mooring at that time, they knew I was there but was not worth charging!

Sadly that seems to have changed and there charges do seem to have sneaked up at some point.... Becoming like Beaulie and Poole that although I enjoy the odd visit its annual one not more because I object to the prices...

 

[sailorman]

does the hbr own the solent seabed now

 

[l'escargot]

does the hbr own the solent seabed now

The anchorage is within the outer harbour limits, between the harbour wall and the moorings, so you are anchoring in the harbour and not in the Solent.

 

[Giblets]

An interesting reply email to alant of this parish back in 2004 from the then Harbour Master: (my bolding)

"Thank you for your e-mail and the pointer to the ybw web site.
As you can imagine it all caused a lot of consternation here.
We have never, nor intend to, charge people for anchoring.
We do charge for the use of the buoyed trots as there is a
cost involved in lifting them each autumn prior to the oyster
season, replacing the ground tackle, riser chains, etc, and
re-laying them again in the spring.
Yarmouth is a Trust Port and as such each person paying
a fee becomes a stakeholder in the port for that period. The
Commissioners have a duty to preserve the port and cater
to reasonable demands from the stakeholders. As such we
do not make a profit in the true sense of the word and cannot
go out to the market place for finance, so the expressed rumour
of an expanded Harbour would require a lot of planning. The
stakeholders fees are raised to a level that covers the planned
maintenance and requested improvements.
Yarmouth has a very good reputation for being a very friendly
place and offering excellent shore facilities. It has taken a
lot of hard work by dedicated staff using limited resources
to achieve this, so it would be a shame if all that was lost by
ill informed rumour.

David Lewis
Harbour Master"

 

[l'escargot]

Don't pick up a mooring! It costs 35 pounds a night (!!)...

...for a boat over 15m, which would have cost £56 in the inner harbour...

 

[Teetime]

I do not think there was any excuse for Yarmouth Harbour turning people away last night. In spite of all the welcoming e-mails they send they seem seem delighted to turn `people away without trying very hard to fit them in. Last night there were plenty of spaces where more boats could have been accommodated. On P pontoon one large yacht had nothing alongside. Why was he so privileged ? I am sure there were many other spaces that could have been used. aaait really puts one off going to Yarmouth only to be turned away.

 

[Fantasie 19]

...for a boat over 15m, which would have cost £56 in the inner harbour...

Indeed... is £35 so much for a boat that big, and on a Friday/Saturday?? Compare it with a night in a B&B, I would have thought good value?

 

[sailorman]

Indeed... is £35 so much for a boat that big, and on a Friday/Saturday?? Compare it with a night in a B&B, I would have thought good value?

one is providing one`s own b+b & only paying to park for the night to enable one + crew to possibly spend many £s ashore thus benefiting the village traders & rate payers

 

[onesea]

one is providing one`s own b+b & only paying to park for the night to enable one + crew to possibly spend many £s ashore thus benefiting the village traders & rate payers

I guess if they are full they are not over charging Plus those prepared to may more to park there boat will probably give more to those premises ashore as well...

There winter rates are much more accommodating:
http://www.yarmouth-harbour.co.uk/media/uploads/winter-2014-for-website.pdf

That's when they are doing what they can to pull the customers in for the town etc...

Not saying I like the policy, summer weekends we normally days sail as we cannot be bothered with the berthing issues in the Solent/ Poole. We normally don't plan in advance, having spent enough time phoning marinas looking for some where that can squeeze us in... We visit the places we want to mid week or off season when we can choose where we want to go...

 

[Pete7]

Ouch, I paid £8.50 last time for the green mid river pontoon. Mid week, little boat and the £5 off voucher from a previous visit.

 

[l'escargot]

Indeed... is £35 so much for a boat that big, and on a Friday/Saturday?? Compare it with a night in a B&B, I would have thought good value?

I seldom feel cheated when paying berthing. Generally comparable with camping sites/car parking and often with better facilities/locations.

 

[jonjo]

Another hot tip:

Pay for first night only then use the "£5 off next visit" voucher to pay for the second night. The cost of a 34 footer then comes down to £19 for the second night walk ashore, mid week.